The ANBU
by Carnation Cascade
Summary: Modern AU, centered around Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke as agents of a modern kind of A.N.B.U. (single plot focus)
1. Prologue Chapter 1

**Just an idea that refused to fade away for quite a while, so I decided to type it down :)**  
**This may or may not be continued, but I'd really appreciate your feedback :)**

**Disclaimer: Naruto and it's characters do not belong to me.**

* * *

With a tight click, the handcuffs were secured around his hands.

The villain growled menacingly at his captor. Or _captors_, rather.

_Had he really just gotten thwarted by a couple of kids?_

* * *

"Hurry up and move it." The cold words of deep voice lashed upon the bruised and beaten man, who stumbled forward as another pink-haired teen tugged him by his cuffs. The other blond kid was punching his fists in the air, an evident display of his ecstasy at having subdued the man.

The trio dragged him along to the corner of the street, where another figure emerged from the shadows.

" Person FF, A-list criminal, robbed over ten major banks without getting caught before."

A tall man, with a small book in hand, leaned against the wall. A mysterious mask concealed the lower half of his face, and the headband he wore slipped down to cover his right eye.

He then proceeded to give the three teenagers a thumbs-up.

"Good job, kids!"

The robber heard a smug "Hn", a chuckle and a "Thanks, sensei!" in response to this encouragement as the masked adult took a step towards him.

That was when he saw it.

As soon as the masked man had set foot into the area faintly illuminated by a nearby street lamp, the robber had caught sight of the silvery words emblazoned on his black headband, glinting in the light.

The robber narrowed his eyes. He should have known the police would enlist _their_ help sooner or later.

Not that it would've helped if he knew.

Because honestly, no one could escape the A. N. B. U.

* * *

A.N.B.U.

The Assassination, espioNage and Battle-engagement Unit.

An organization consisting of possibly the most elite in the world, tasked by the military and the police to carry out important and hazardous missions. To the general public it was just another 'low-profile society', but criminals were certainly highly wary of it.

Adolescents identified as the cream of the crop are selected to undergo rigorous training before qualifying as full-fledged members of the A.N.B.U. Those who graduate from the training are then grouped into threes, and a mentor looks after the team, giving them guidance and helping them out when necessary. Teams are formed based on compatibility in terms of character, strength, speed and special skill. (One of the basic requirements for joining the A.N.B.U. is to have a unique skill, be it in any field of expertise.)

And the cream _of _the cream of the crop was three high school students—Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: If you're wondering why there's a mention of Minato and Kushina below, it's because I decided that they should stay alive and since this is an AU and all, why not? ;)  
I know the chapters are short and all, but I kind of feel that sometimes chapters just need to stop… **_**there**_**. Instead of running on with a line break in between. Sorry if you're not used to it.**

**Reviews are always appreciated. :)  
**

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It was 16:19 in the morning when Team 7 and their mentor returned with one criminal in tow.

Despite the fact that it was in the wee hours of the morning, the A.N.B.U. HQ situated in Konoha was very much alive and buzzing with activity. Agents often worked at irregular hours, depending on their task and the urgency of the matter, so it wasn't really much of a surprise to anyone.

Agents and admin staff were all rushing about; time is always of the essence, more so for the A.N.B.U. A single second could determine the outcome of a situation. There was a lot of thumping and noises of new sneakers squeaking against the pristine floors as everyone hurried from place to place, whether it was to get missions approved, or to jet out of the place and to their mission's designated destination, or even to just go home and get some shut-eye before the new day began.

Sasuke spotted some teams from other branches of the A.N.B.U.; and figured that their mission destination must have been nearer to the Leaf A.N.B.U. HQ, thus they reported there instead. One of the members caught his eye—a boy perhaps somewhere around his age, with a head full of red hair. But what was most striking about him was the gigantic gourd he carried on his back. Sasuke then looked at the other two members in the redhead's team: A taller, older blonde who carried a large traditional fan on her back, and another teen clad in black from head to toe, with a few bulky scrolls on his back. No doubt they were probably more specialized in Battle-engagement than anything. The Uchiha then noticed the way they were dressed. Full protection from the desert's harsh winds and sands. Clearly they were from the next town's A.N.B.U. branch, the Sand.

Sasuke's train of thought was derailed when Kakashi Hatake, team 7's mentor, ushered the three kids he was in charge of into the office of the Leaf A.N.B.U.'s chairperson. The former had been so distracted and fatigued that he hadn't noticed that they'd already reached the office.

As they stepped into the spacious office, a middle-aged lady greeted them. "Nicely done, Team 7. That was fast. To think you only left for the mission two hours ago." Her gaze drifted towards the prisoner. "Plus, he's a notorious one."

"Thank you for the compliment, Tsunade-sama!" Chirped Sakura. It wasn't everyday she got praised by her the head of the organization. Tsunade smiled and snapped her fingers, and the two guards stationed behind her led the prisoner away speedily.

Now Naruto was eyeing the money (a bonus for the mission) on Tsunade's table eagerly. Sasuke shot his friend a disgusted look. The least he could do was at least _pretend_ to be less greedy.

"Okay, Team 7, here's your bonus," Tsunade said whilst filling out a form, then proceeding to hand Kakashi their bonus cash—a grand total of 200 bucks, which meant 50 per person.

"YES!" Naruto hooted with glee as the money was placed in his hands. "More ramen!"

"Naruto, control yourself," Tsunade chided, albeit with a smile. "Minato and Kushina have really spoilt you."

"Yeah right. They restricted me to one bowl of ramen a day!"

" Too much ramen is unhealthy, dobe."

"Sasuke's right. They're doing it for your own good, Naruto."

Team 7's mentor watched Naruto's expression reflect his disagreement and decided it was time to make the kids quiet down. Somehow he figured his team launching into an epic argument of sorts about ramen _in the chairperson's office_ wouldn't go very well for his record.

"Uh… thanks and we'll be leaving!" Kakashi eye-smiled at Tsunade and pushed the squabbling teens out of the office. It was almost daybreak anyway, and his team needed to attend school.

(Frankly, he wanted to send the kids off to school real quick so he could spend some quality time reading his book.)

And so, after showering and changing into their school uniforms, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were wondering why their mentor was being such a nag as they exited the HQ.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: First, I'd like to thank my reviewers and favourite-rs and followers! :) **** Thank you for the support! **

**And my apologies but this is kind of a head's up I won't be updating for slightly more than a week 'cos I'll be busy. So sorry!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

There was a loud snapping sound next to Sakura's ear, and the half-asleep pink-haired teen shot up from her seat.

"PINK BUNNIES ARE CUTER THAN YELLOW ONES!"

The entire class of sixteen year-olds gave Sakura incredulous stares. Then there was a small giggle, followed by an eruption of laughter from the class.

Only then did Sakura realise she had been dreaming about bunnies in a field, and that she was actually in class. With an angry teacher standing next to her.

Sakura blanched.

"Uh… I'm so sorry, uh I was up late last night…"

The teacher slammed his book down on the table and gave Sakura a pointed glare, "_Out_."

The A.N.B.U. agent sighed and trudged out of the classroom, where she spotted her teammates sleeping there too. Naruto quite evidently didn't mind getting punished; he was sprawled on the floor comfortably, drool coming out from the side of his mouth. Sasuke was nodding off whilst leaning against the wall, but he looked like he wanted to join Naruto on the floor (except that he couldn't because of his Uchiha pride).

Apparently they had been sent out of class before her.

Sakura couldn't help but smile at her exhausted teammates, before sitting slumped against the wall, next to Sasuke.

She woke up from her forty winks when the bell signaling the end of school rang. _Okay…_ Sakura thought, rubbing her head absentmindedly as she stood up and headed for the classroom. _Please don't tell me I just slept outside class for the past two hours of lessons. _

Sasuke was already in the classroom, subjected to the torture of Ino's flirting. At least Naruto was still snoring outside.

"Hey forehead! Guess who just slept outside class for the past two hours of lessons?" Ino taunted, not leaving Sasuke's side for a second.

"Yeah, yeah. We had a mission last night, Ino pig. As if the likes of you would ever help your team get important missions like ours."

Sakura chose to ignore Ino's yelling as she slinked into her seat.

Missions were ranked according to difficulty and perilousness, with D-ranks being the lowest and S-ranks being the highest. Team 7 was often dispatched to work on mainly A-ranks, since Tsunade was highly confident of their abilities. Not that Sakura meant to insult Team 10, of course. Team 10 was the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, but they weren't quite as top-notch as Team 7, despite being relatively all-rounded. Ino was a creepy mentalist and hypnotist, and her teammate Shikamaru was skilled in stealth, and Choji was like a cannonball on the battlefield.

As luck would have it, Shikamaru and Choji from Ino's team walked over, having heard what Sakura had said about their team.

"Don't get too cocky, Team 7," Choji said playfully with his mouth full of barbecued meat. "The exams are next week."

Sakura frowned. "What exam?" She couldn't recall any tests they were going to be assessed on. Was it Biology? Or Physics? Surely their school wasn't going to pose them tests when the Final Exams were drawing near.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. "He means the yearly A.N.B.U. qualifying exams."

_Oh. That._ Sakura grimaced. The yearly A.N.B.U. qualifying exams were a real pain. They were created to test the agents' physical fitness and mental abilities. Since the exam was to be taken by all the agents, meaning the adults too, its standards were usually set pretty high, and the teenage agents were still expected to pass it. The theory was simple: You pass, you continue being an agent. You fail, you get kicked out.

It was painful for the pink-haired agent as she recalled the exams from the past two years. Back then she'd only been fourteen, and had only but a year of experience in the A.N.B.U. The exams had come to her as a shock—scaling a rock wall with only a thin, flimsy-looking rope attached to her and having to hang precariously from the overhang for ten seconds, solving puzzles that played with your mind, and a 'Field test', a game of catch—except with more violence, and a lot more strategizing and speed. And the worst part was that it was always a surprise, because the exam components changed every year.

"And apparently they're going to be using the scores to decide which team to send on _that_ S-rank mission," Sasuke spoke up despite seeming nonchalant about it.

All the A.N.B.U. agents fell silent at the mention of the S-rank mission.

Just a month ago, Tsunade had announced that the A.N.B.U. was finally going to take action against one of the world's most notorious criminal organizations. The A.N.B.U. heads had been holding regular meetings to discuss about them and had been tracking their activities and even conducted several reconnaissance operations. And finally, they decided that they had sufficient information gathered to dispatch teams on a proper mission.

The reason behind the A.N.B.U. heads' cautiousness was simple. This criminal organisation, while only consisting of a few members, was highly skilled in their field of work. They were merciless and definitely a force not to be reckoned with.

And the name of this organisation was Akatsuki.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I have returned!**

**I'll keep this short so…**

**I'd like to thank my reviewers and favourite-rs and followers once again! **** Thank you for the support! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters.**

**Enjoy!**

The weeks that followed were nerve wrecking, in the least, for the young A.N.B.U. agents as they struggled to cope with school-life and work-life. The fact that the yearly qualifying A.N.B.U. exams were around the corner didn't help in easing the tension.

So it was with a mix of relief and fear that flooded Sakura when the time for the exams came.

On Saturday morning at 8 a.m., all the teens from the Konoha A.N.B.U. branch had gathered in the large holding area as they waited anxiously for the person-in-charge to arrive and lead them to the first examination venue. All the different teams were jittery and edgy at the possible thought of scary, horrific, make-you-wet-your-pants obstacles that the examination board could—more like would—throw at them. Mercilessly.

As such, it was a pretty big weight off their chests when the teams were led to the rock wall.

…Or not.

Because according to the Shikamaru-ean Theory of Simplicity, if they were given an obstacle easy enough to overcome easily, then the conditions given would then be hard enough to make the agents fail.

It was with an uneasy feeling rising up her throat that Sakura remembered this Shikamaruean Theory. _Crap… Why'd I have to remember that right now? I mean—_

"SAKURA!"

"Huh?!"

Naruto was staring at her with an incredulous look. "Sakura, I've been trying to tell you that the exam's started!"

"WHAT!" Sakura exclaimed; the examiner hadn't even explained the rules or instructions… Unless… Team 7's female member gave her teammates a sheepish look, "Please don't tell me I wasn't listening to the instructions?"

The Uchiha sighed angrily as he caught sight of the other teams already done with their preparations—some were even beginning to scale the rock wall.

He turned to face his team. "Naruto," he ordered, "There's no time to waste… Let's get the preparations done fast."

Naruto nodded and passed one end of a thick, sturdy-looking rope to Sakura. "Tie it around your waist."

For a moment, Sakura was naively deceived into thinking that the examination board was actually kind enough to give them a rope considered safe for climbing!

A pipe dream, that's what it was.

It was only when Sakura was all set to start scaling the rock wall when she realised that Sasuke and Naruto had tied the same rope around their waists. In other words, the three of them were now connected by this thick rope.

… And it hit Sakura like a ton of bricks. The three of them would be scaling the wall together. So if one of them fell… so would the other two.

"Let's go! ROCK WALL BRING IT ON!" Naruto cheered and literally leapt for the wall without hesitation, in the process managing to fling Sasuke and Sakura at the wall too.

"Dobe!" Sasuke hissed, but closed his fingers around a pink handhold and pushed himself upwards.

Likewise, Sakura had set her foot down and decided not to be a burden to her team; she reached for a green handhold and hoisted herself up. After all that rigorous training she had gone through since her initiation as an A.N.B.U. agent two years back, technically she shouldn't have a problem with climbing a rock wall. After all, her special skill was her uncanny strength.

It wasn't so hard at first, and several of the teams were around the mid-point in no time, save for a couple of teams who lacked the physical strength necessary for such a task. Most of the teams were beginning to feel less depressed about the exam, what with it being so easy and all.

But things weren't really as they seemed, the teams soon realised. For one, was the wall becoming smaller? As in, less broad? Further up the wall, the four lanes originally existent had, apparently, merged into three lanes…

"Did the lanes just… shrink?!"

"What's going on!"

"Quick, my teammates! We must show the rest our youthful spirits!"

… Which heated up the competition.

All the teams were suddenly scrambling to be the first to get to the top, and the competitiveness was intense.

At the foot of the rock wall, stood the different teams' mentors, whom had finished their exams the previous week.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Might Guy, mentor of Team 10, poked Kakashi forcefully. "Can't you feel their YOUTHFUL SOULS BLAZING WITH PASSION!"

"Uhm." The cool ad collected Team 7 mentor didn't take his eyes off the book in his hands at all. He was sure his team was doing fine…

"NARUTO YOU IDIOT!"

This was followed by a sharp cry and a shout.

Partially amused, Kakashi lowered his book to take a glance at the rock wall.

"Oh."

He was just in time to catch sight of Team 7 hurtling towards the ground, speeding past the other teams in the exact opposite direction. Thankfully the mischievous blonde managed to grab one of the protruding handholds and saved his team from their fall. Sakura was screaming angrily at Naruto as she leaned her body weight against the wall, having managed to find only one handhold to step on. Sasuke had it the worst. Scowling and dangling precariously with no handhold in reach, he was barely two metres above the ground. Barely.

Might Guy took this opportunity to mock his best-rival-forever, "Aww, ain't that saaaadd~ They were in the lead, too. They may be youthful, but my team is MORE youthful! GOOOOOO MY TEAMMMMM!" (There was the faint cry of Rock Lee going "OOOOOOOHHHHH! GUY-SENSEI IS CHEERING US ON!" which drowned out Tenten's and Neji's shouts of caution.)

"Hmm." Kakashi returned to his book. Truth be told, he had been prepared to dash forth and save his team if it really came down to that, but he knew better. He knew that his team was better than that. Plus they'd probably be ashamed to be saved by their mentor from a simple task in front of all the other teams and their mentors. They'd probably say they could've hung on to the wall if he hadn't caught them. The ingrates.

Thus the first round of the exams began.


End file.
